Pools are an investment with many benefits. Pools not only allow friends, families and colleagues to make new memories and promote a healthy lifestyle through aerobic activity, they also greatly increase the aesthetic value of one's home or property and add value in nearly any setting.
Owning a pool is a relatively expensive investment to make and maintain, however, and pool owners expect their investments to reflect a high level of quality and aesthetics. There are, therefore, many enhancements a pool owner can make in order to improve the appearance of their pool.
For example, there are many styles and shapes of pools from which to choose—from a classic rectangular shape to Grecian-style, FIG. 8, round or oval, in-ground, above ground, and many others. Various types of decking can also be added, as well as other customizable features such as waterfalls, waterslides, water jets, rock décor, and fountain additions.
Presently known high-end in-ground pools frequently comprise gunite lower wall and flooring surfaces, with upper interior wall and flooring finishes created by applying decorative indicia to ceramic tiles and other finishing surfaces. Such indicia can include repetitive or randomized tile patterns, reflective inks, iridescent inks, reflective beads, and other attractive flourishes so that the walls and floor surfaces of the pool reflect and diffract light in an aesthetically pleasing manner. Such flourishes brighten the pool area and enliven the swimming and lounging experience by enhancing the inherent beauty of the interplay between light and water, and allow customers to variably and selectively personalize their pools so that enjoyment and return on investment are maximized.
Such technology is costly and by its nature more or less permanently installed, however, and errors in installation and erosion caused by the elements and water chemistry can slowly erode the beauty and aesthetic enjoyment of the pool.
Above ground pools and in-ground vinyl liner pools suffer from the basic problems as gunite in-ground pools, except that they do not typically include erodible gunite surface finishing and ceramic tiling. Instead, such pools are usually fitted with liners in an attempt to soften and beautify interior presentation. Such liners, however, are frequently even more susceptible to weathering and environmental deconditioning. Consequently, replacement liners and lining materials tend to strongly emphasize functionality over aesthetics, and to date fail to reproduce the far more attractive design elements present in originally constructed in-ground gunite pools.
There is, therefore, a long standing unmet need for durable, cost-effective pool linings that will replace in-ground gunite and tile surfaces that better capture the aesthetics presently associated with more expensive, permanent construction in-ground pools.
Similarly, despite the vast improvements in the luxury details a pool owner may choose or modify, there is one aspect of the pool system that has heretofore stayed basically the same since industry inception—the skimmer cover.
Those of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that pool skimmers generally help keep pools clean by skimming water and capturing floating debris, such as leaves, dirt, twigs, dead insects, and oils. Most pools include one or more prominently positioned skimmers within at least one of the pool's upper walls. Though essential to maintain sanitation and chemical balance, such skimmers are often considered an eyesore. Skimmers and their covers—typically exposed face plates attached to a wall surface around the perimeter of the skimmer opening—are usually industry standard white plastic plates that are glaringly obvious and which appear out of place in the streamlined pools of today, especially those pools that have colorful and intricately patterned linings or other interior surfaces.
Pool skimmer face plates therefore act to interrupt the fluid and otherwise aesthetically pleasing patterns of pool liners and gunite or ceramic patterning. All pools that have linings, such as a vinyl surfaced lining, require face plates to cover and seal around the skimmer to prevent water from penetrating behind the vinyl liner. These skimmer face plates are generally screwed to the skimmer, and the unsightly screws are usually also left visible. To add to their unattractiveness, skimmer face plates regularly discolor from exposure to swimming pool water and maintenance chemicals. For these reasons, skimmer face plates negatively impact the overall appearance and aesthetics of a pool.
Presently known skimmer face plates are available in standard white, light blue, gray or similar solid coloring. The lack of available skimmer face plate options prevents pool owners from customizing or camouflaging the unappealing skimmer face plates. There are currently no known skimmer face plate covers that allow for customization to match the skimmer face plate to the pool's decorative lining or other interior surface finishing.
There is, therefore, also a longstanding but presently unmet need for an apparatus and a method for providing customizable pool skimmer face plate covers.